Apparatus for tip turning cigarettes



Nov. 26, 1968 o. w. MOLINS ET AL 3,412,842

APPARATUS FOR TIP TURNING CIGARETTES Filed May 11, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet l D. w. MOLINS ET .AL 3,412,842

APPARATUS FOR TIP TURNING CIGARETTES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 11, 196'? WWQM waia-mu, Maud;

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APPARATUS FOR TIP TURNING CIGARETTES 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 11, 1967 NOV. 26, 1968 w, MQLINS ET AL 3,412,842

APPARATUS FOR TIP TURNING CIGARETTES Filed May 11, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Lam; mmvn mic l my Nov; 26, 1968 D. w. MOLINS ET AL 3,412,842

APPARATUS FOR TIP TURNING CIGARETTES Filed May 11, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Tipped cigarettes travelling sideways in a first row are transferred by a conveyor, which reverses their direction of travel, to a rotating disc which swings them through 180, thus again reversing their direction of travel and also turning them end for end, and delivers them to a second row. The disc extends across both rows, above or below them, and at the receiving and delivery positions moves in the same direction as the cigarettes it receives, and as the second row to which it delivers the cigarettes.

Cross-reference to related application This application is a continuation-in-part of our copending application Ser. No. 550,474, filed May 16, 1966, now abandoned.

Background of the invention In the manufacture of tipped cigarettes, the cigarettes are often fed in two adjacent rows, with the tipped ends of cigarettes in one row adjacent the tipped ends of cigarettes in the other row, usually because the two rows have been produced by subdividing double-length cigarettes by cutting through the central tipped portion. It is often required to rearrange the cigarettes so that their orientation is the same, and this can be done by turning the cigarettes of one row end for end. In addition, it is sometimes required to combine the two rows into one. Both these requirements are for the sake of facilitating further handling of the cigarettes.

Various means have been proposed for reorientating cigarettes, and some of these operate simultaneously to combine two rows into one.

Summary of the invention An object of the invention is to provide apparatus whereby the cigarettes in a row of sideways travelling cigarettes can be turned end for end. To this end, apparatus according to the invention may comprise a rotary conveyor system which reverses the direction of sideways travel of the cigarettes while maintaining their existing orientation, and a further rotating conveyor which reverses the direction of sideways travel of the cigarettes while also reversing their orientation. For example the first mentioned conveyor system may include a rotary carrier to carry the cigarettes arranged substantially parallel to its axis of rotation, while the second-named conveyor carries the cigarettes arranged substantially radially of and perpendicular to its axis of rotation.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus which reorientates the cigarettes of one of a pair of adjacent rows while at the same time combining them with the other row. For this purpose the invention provides means to feed two side-by-side rows of cigarettes in the same general direction, and reversing means to reverse the orientation of the cigarettes of one of said "ice rows and to incorporate the reoriented cigarettes into the other row while they are moving in the same direction as the cigarettes of said other row, said reversing means including a rotary conveyor consisting of a suction disc to carry cigarettes with their axes substantially radial to its axis of rotation and to reverse the orientation and direction of movement of the cigarettes while rotating through substantially half a revolution, and another rotary conveyor consisting of a suction drum to carry cigarettes with their axes substantially parallel to its axis and to reverse their direction of movement, one of said rotary conveyors being arranged to receive cigarettes from the other and to release reoriented cigarettes for incorporation in said other row.

The rotary conveyor which reverses the orientation of the cigarettes may extend across both rows so as to receive cigarettes from one row and transfer them to the other.

Transfer of the cigarettes from one conveyor to the other is preferably effected at a position at which the two conveyors are travelling in substantially the same direction and at the same speed. For example the conveyor which carries cigarettes parallel to its axis of rotation may, having reversed their direction of travel, transfer them to the conveyor which reverses their orientation and again reverses their direction of travel, so that when they have been reoriented they are again travelling in their original direction and can readily be transferred to a conveyor carrying the other row of cigarettes in that direction.

Thus the invention further provides apparatus for converting two adjacent rows of cigarettes travelling in a direction transverse to their length into a single row while reversing the orientation of the cigarettes of one row, comprising a rotary carrier extending across both rows and arranged to carry through substantially half a revolution cigarettes disposed substantially radially of its axis of rotation, thereby to reverse their orientation and direction of travel, conveyor means to convey cigarettes to said carrier for transfer thereto at a position at which the conveyor means and carrier are moving in substantially the same direction, and further conveyor means to receive reoriented cigarettes from said carrier at a position at which said further conveyor means and carrier are moving in substantially the same direction, one of said conveyor means being arranged to reverse the direction of transverse movement of cigarettes carried thereby.

The carrier which reverses the orientation of the cigarettes may be a rotary disc having flutes on its cigarette-carrying face, with suction ports in said flutes. The disc may extend across both rows of cigarettes, either above the cigarettes or beneath them.

The invention further provides apparatus for reorienting the cigarettes of a row of cigarettes, comprising a rotary turn-table having substantially radial grooves to receive cigarettes, and a pair of fluted drums rotatable in opposite directions about a common axis :which is substantially at right angles to the axis of rotation of the turn-table, one of said drums being arranged to deliver successive cigarettes to the turn-table, and the other being arranged to receive from the turn-table cigarettes which have been carried thereby through half a revolution and whose orientation has thereby been reversed. The directions in which the drums and the turn-table rotate are such that at the position where a cigarette is transferred from the said one drum to the turn-table, the flute of the drum, which carries the cigarette, and the corresponding flute of the turn-table, are moving instantaneously in substantially the same direction and at substanitally the same speed; similarly a flute of the other drum at the position where it receives a cigarette from a flute of the turn-table is instantaneously moving in substantially the same direction and at substantially the same speed as that flute in the turn-table.

Brief description of the drawings Apparatus according to the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of one embodiment of tip-turning apparatus,

FIGURE 2 is a View taken on the line 11-11, FIGURE FIGURE 3 is a plan of a further embodiment of tipturning apparatus,

FIGURE 4 is a front elevation of the apparatus shown in FIGURE 3, and

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view on the line V-V, FIGURE 3.

Description of the preferred embodiments Referring first to FIGURES 1 and 2, two rows of sideby-side mouthpiece cigarettes are supplied to the apparatus. The orientation of the cigarettes in one row is the same and opposite to the orientation of the cigarettes in the other row. The cigarettes in the first row are referenced, 1C1, 1C2, 1C3, etc. and those in the second row 2C1, 2C2, 2C3 etc. The mouthpiece ends of the cigarettes are indicated by the reference numeral M. The two rows of cigarettes arriving from the right hand side of the figures having been produced by an assembler machine so that the mouthpiece ends of the cigarettes in the two rows as they arrive at the apparatus are adjacent to each other.

The first row of cigarettes 1C1 etc. is carried on a conveyor means which comprises two chains 10. Each chain comprises blocks 11 connected together by links 12, the blocks 11 being shaped so that between each successive pair a recess is formed in which rests one end of a cigarette. The chains pass around sprockets (not shown) carried on a shaft 13.

The second row of cigarettes 2C1 etc. is carried on another conveyor means which comprises two chains 14 and is transferred on to a further conveyor means which comprises two chains 15. The chains 14 are similar in construction to the chains 10 and the chains 14 and 15 also pass around sprockets (not shown) carried on the shaft 13.

The ciragettes carried by the chains 10 and 14 are equally spaced apart, and the chains 10, 14 and 15 all have their upper runs on which the cigarettes are carried traveling in the same plane.

The chains 15 comprise blocks 16 connected together by links 17. The blocks 16 are shaped to have a central recess in which may rest one end of a cigarette, and to produce between each pair of blocks a further similar recess in which also one end of a cigarette may rest. The chains 15 will thus carry twice as many cigarettes equally spaced apart as the chains 10 or 14 the spacing of the cigarettes being halved on the chains 15.

As can be seen by the progression of reference numerals from 2C1 to 2C13 the cigarettes of the second row on the chains 14 are transferred into one set of alternate recesses on the chains 15, the recesses being those formed between the blocks 16.

The turning apparatus acts to receive the cigarettes from the chains 10, to reverse the orientation of these cigarettes and to intercalate them with the cigarettes of the second row by placing them in the other set of alternate recesses on the chains 15, as will be seen from the progression of reference numerals 1C1 to 1C28.

The rows of cigarettes on the chains 10' and 14 are spaced apart by a wedge shaped member 18 which has air nozzles 18a. The mouthpiece ends of the cigarettes carried on the chains 14 are displaced slightly in the direction of their lengths at the time of their transfer on to the chains 15 by their mouthpiece ends coming into contact with one side of the member 18. The cigarettes on the chains 10 are similarly displaced but to a greater degree by the action of the air nozzles 18a and are realigned by being blown against a plate 19. At the time this is occurring, the cigarettes (see cigarette 1C3) on the chains 10 are also being lifted ofi" the chains by two discs 20 carried on the shaft 13 which have recesses in their peripheries to receive the cigarettes.

Adjacent to the shaft 13 is a further rotatable shaft 21 which carries a fluted drum 22. A suction pipe 23 extends into the drum and applies suction to the flutes over the angular extent indicated by the arrow S. The cigarettes from the discs 20 are thus transferred into the flutes of the drum 22 and are carried around to the top of the drum. Cigarette 1C6 has just been transferred on to the drum 22, and 1C5 will shortly follow it. When the cigarettes (as 1C12 and 1C13) reach the top of the drum 22 the first row of cigarettes has had its direction of travel reversed.

Directly above the drum 22 and the chains 15 is the turning disc 24, the plane of which is parallel with the planes of the chains 10, 14 and 15, and which has on its underface a series of equi-angularly spaced radial flutes 24a. The disc is rotated about its axis 25 by means of gearing in the casing 26. The drive shaft to the gearing is shown at 27, and the assembly may be lifted clear by means of a knob 28, the assembly pivoting about the axis of the shaft 27. The spacing of the flutes 24a in the disc, and the speed of rotation of the disc, are such that each successive flute 24a comes into register with each successive flute in the drum 22. Similarly, the flutes 24a in the disc come into register with the vacant spaces between the cigarettes of the second row on the chains 15. Sealing with the disc 24 is a stationary cover plate 29, and sandwiched between these two is a stationary plate (FIG- URE 2) containing a slot 31 of angular extent somewhat less than Suction is applied to this slot 31 through a pipe 32, and the slot 31 applies suction to suction slots 33 in the flutes 24a. The slot 31 is enlarged at 31A to practically the full size of slots 33 in the flutes in the disc 24. The plate 30 also has a large slot 34 to which suction is not applied and which is open to atmosphere through the slots 33.

Each successive foremost cigarette (see cigarette 1C13) on the drum 22 is lifted up into a flute 24a in the disc 24 as the suction slot 33 in that flute comes into register with the slot 31A. Once the cigarette has been lifted into the flute less suction is necessary merely to hold it, and this reduced suction is produced by the suction being applied only through the overlapping area of the slot 33 and the slot 31 as cigarette 1C13 moves to the position of cigarette 1C14. The cigarettes held in the flutes of the disc 24 are carried around by the disc, above and clear of cigarettes on the chains 10, 14 and 15 (see cigarettes 1C14 to 1C21). When the disc has rotated through slightly less than half a revolution each successive flute in the disc 24 comes above a recess in a pair of blocks 16 (see cigarettes 1C21 and 1C22) and, additionally, the suction slot 33 in the flute leaves the suction slot 31. At the position of cigarette 1C22 the suction slot 33 comes into register with the large slot 34 and is vented to atmosphere through slot 34 and the preceding slots 33. The cigarette M122 is thus dropped out of the flute 24a on the disc 24 into the registering recesses on a pair of blocks 16, and between two successive cigarettes from the second row (see cigarettes 207 and 2C8). As the disc 24 continues to rotate cigarette 1C12 is picked up and cigarette 1C21 is dropped between cigarettes 2C6 and 2C7.

Thus, the cigarettes 1C1 etc. and 2C] etc. are initially travelling in the same direction as the chains 10 and 14 as two rows, and are finally again travelling in the same direction in a single row on the chains 15. The drum 22 reverses the direction of travel of the cigarettes 1C1 etc. but preserves their opposite orientation to the cigarettes 2C1 etc., whilst the disc 24 reverses the orientation of the cigarettes 1C1 etc. and in addition restores their direction of travel to be the same as the cigarettes 2C1 etc.

It will be appreciated that the disc 24 could be arranged to pick up the cigarettes from the chains and to deliver them after their re-orientation to a device such as a fluted drum like the drum 22 for their direction of travel to be restored, other rearrangements of the first and second conveyor means would of course be necessary.

The cigarettes on the chains are lifted off in the flutes of a narrow drum 35. Thus cigarette 1C25 is in the process of being lifted and will be followed by 2C10. The drum is driven by a shaft 36 and suction is applied to part of the drum by a suction pipe 37.

The cigarettes on the chains 15 are not all in alignment, thus, the cigarettes 2C5 to 2C13 as seen in FIG- URE 2 are all in alignment with each other, but are displaced in the direction of their lengths from the cigarettes 1C22 to 1C28, which similarly are in alignment with each other. This permits identification of the two original rows even after they have been merged, but this feature is not essential. If it is desired to align the two rows with each other completely then, for example, additional air nozzles such as 18a could be provided on the other side of the member 18.

An alternative embodiment according to the invention is illustrated in FIGURES 3 to 5. The apparatus shown in these figures forms part of machinery for making mouthpiece cigarettes by the well-known system in which two cigarette lengths are joined by an encircling adhesive band to an intermediate filter stub, the resulting assemblage then being divided into two by cutting midway along the length of the stub. In the drawing, such assemblages are indicated by the reference A. This cutting operation results in two adjacent rows of mouthpiece cigarettes, the mouthpieces of the cigarettes in one row being adjacent the mouthpieces of the cigarettes in the other row. It is a frequent requirement, for convenience in further handling of the cigarettes, that they should all be similarly oriented, and it is also often required that the two rows should be combined into one.

In the construction shown, the assemblages are subdivided by a disc knife 101 while being carried in flutes of conveying wheels 102. After cutting, the cigarettes carried by wheels 102 are delivered into flutes of a drum 103. This drum is arranged for rotation in the direction shown by the arrow marked on it in FIGURE 4, and rotates about the same axis as that of a further fluted drum 104, which however rotates in the opposite direction as shown by the arrow in FIGURE 5. Both drums are provided with internal suction chambers 105 connected by a common conduit 106 to a suitable suction fan or the like. The flutes 107 of the drum 103 have suction ports communicating with the suction chamber except when blanked off by a stationary shield. Alternate flutes 107 have pairs of suction ports 108, spaced a fair distance apart as shown in FIGURE 3, while intermediate flutes have pairs of suction ports 1080 which are grouped closer together. A stationary shield 109, FIG- URE 4, blanks off the ports 108 as well as the ports 108a when no suction is required, and another shield 109a, FIGURE 4, blanks off only the ports 108a when suction is required only through the ports 108. The reason for this arrangement is that as shown in FIGURE 4, cigarettes are fed from the wheels 102 into alternate flutes 107, the intermediate flutes which have the ports 108a being left empty at that stage. The shield 109a is wide enough to cover the groups of ports 108:: but too narrow to cover the ports 108.

The drum 104 has flutes 110, spaced twice as far apart as the flutes 107 of the drum 103, and the flutes 110 have suction ports 111 which can be blanked off by a stationary shield 112. These flutes receive cigarettes from a transfer drum 113 which receives them from the wheels 102a. Thus the cigarettes of one row are delivered to the drum 103, where they lie in alternate flutes 107,

6 while the cigarettes of the other row are delivered to the flutes of the drum 104.

Beneath both drums 103 and 105 is a horizontal turntable in the form of a disc 114 whose upper face is provided with radical grooves 115, each shaped to accommodate a cigarette. The turn-table is rotated clockwise as viewed in FIGURE 3, in suitably timed relationship to the rotational speed of drums 103 and 104.

As a cigarette carried by the drum 104 reaches the bottom limit of its travel, suction is cut off from its flute by the shield 112, and the cigarette drops from its flute into a groove 115 of the disc 114, which at that instant is moving at the same speed and in substantially the same direction as the flute which releases the cigarette. As viewed in FIGURE 5, this occurs at the far side of the turn-table disc, a cigarette which has just been received in a groove 115 being identified in FIGURE 5 by the reference C1, while the cigarette which will be the next to be dropped on to the turn-table is marked C2.

The turn-table carries the cigarettes through half a revolution, thereby reversing their orientation, and each of these cigarettes in succession is carried into a position beneath the drum 103, the parts being so timed that a cigarette on the turn-table is traveling directly beneath an empty flute 107 as the latter reaches its lowermost position, instantaneously at the same speed, and in substantially the same direction, as the flute. When this occurs, the cigarette is drawn by suction into the flute 107. A cigarette about to be drawn into an empty flute 107 is identified in FIGURE 4 by the reference C3.

The cigarettes while being conveyed by the drums 103 and 104 are separated endwise and correctly positioned by fixed guides 116 (FIGURE 4) and 117 (FIGURES 3 and 5 It will be seen that the row of cigarettes initially fed to the drum 103 simply continues its movement without change of orientation of the cigarettes, whereas the cigarettes of the other row have their orientation reversed by the turn-table and thus when incorporated in the row carried by the drum 103 are oriented similarly to the cigarettes of that row.

The single row of cigarettes so formed is transferred to a furter fluted drum 118, FIGURES 3 and 4, for further handling in any desired way.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Tip-turning apparatus for reversing the orientation of the cigarettes in a side-by-side row of cigarettes with respect to the direction of travel of the row, comprising means for conveying the row in the direction of its length including a fluted conveyor which receives the cigarettes in its flutes and reverses the direction of travel of the row, and a rotatable disc having equi-angularly disposed flutes on its face in which the cigarettes are received and which reverses the orientation of the cigarettes and reverses the direction of travel of the row after rotation through substantially a half revolution.

2. Tip-turning apparatus for reversing the orientation of the cigarettes in a first side-by-side row of cigarettes with respect to a second side-by-side row of oppositely oriented cigarettes travelling in the same direction, and for combining the two rows, comprising first conveyor means for conveying the first row, second conveyor means for receiving the cigarettes of the first row to reverse the direction of travel of the first row while preserving the orientation of the cigarettes in the first row, a disc having equi-angularly disposed flutes in its face for receiving the cigarettes of the first row and rotatable in a plane parallel with the direction of travel of the first row, at least at the position where cigarettes are received in the flutes of the disc, for reversing both the direction of travel of the first row and the orientation of the cigarettes in the first row, and third conveyor means for conveying the second row and for receiving the first row, after the orientation of the cigarettes in the first row has been reversed and the direction of travel of the row has been twice reversed by the rotatable disc and the second conveyor means, to produce a combined row of similar orientation.

3. Tip-turning apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first and second rows initially are travelling side-byside, and the fluted disc extends across both rows so that the cigarettes of the first row are carried thereby across to the second row.

4. Tip-turning apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second conveyor means receives the first row from the first conveyor means, the rotatable disc has its flutes on its underface and each provided with a suction port and is situated above the second conveyor means to receive the first row therefrom and to deposit the first row on to the second row On the third conveyor means.

5. Tip-turning apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the first conveyor means is a chain conveyor which carries the cigarettes of the first row equally spaced apart, the second conveyor means is a fluted suction drum, the rotatable disc has means to apply suction to its flutes to lift cigarettes out of the flutes of the drum and hold them while the disc rotates to carry the cigarettes through substantially half a revolution and then to release the suction, and the third conveyor means comprises a chain conveyor which carries the cigarettes of the second row equally spaced apart and receives between each successive pair of cigarettes of the second row the foremost cigarette which is dropped therebetween from each successive flute in the disc as the flutes reach the point at which suction is released.

6. Tip-turning apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the means to apply suction to and to release suction from the flutes of the disc comprises a stationary cover plate above the disc, and a stationary plate sandwiched therebetween, the plate containing a part-circular suction slot which extends from the position where cigarettes are to be lifted from the suction drum to before the position where the cigarettes are to be released on to the third conveyor, and a part-circular venting slot which extends from the point where the cigarettes are to be dropped on to the third conveyor means to a position before the position at which the cigarettes are picked up from the fluted drum.

7. Tip-turning apparatus as claimed in claim wherein a further chain conveyor similar to the first conveyor means is provided at the side thereof to convey the second row which is transferred from the further chain conveyor on to the third conveyor means.

8. Tip-turning apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the rotatable disc is situated beneath the second conveyor means and has its flutes on its upper face to receive the first row from the second conveyor means.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the second and third conveyor means are constituted by fluted drums arranged to rotate in opposite directions about a common axis and located above the said disc.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the drum constituting the second conveyor means has its flutes spaced twice as far apart as the flutes of the drum constituting the third conveyor means.

11. Tip-turning apparatus for reversing the orientation of a succession of cigarettes, moving in a direction transverse to their length including a rotary carrier to carry the cigarettes arranged substantially parallel to its axis of rotation and to reverse their direction of transverse movement, and a further rotary carrier to carry the cigarettes arranged substantially radially of and perpendicular to its axis of rotation and to reverse their direction of transverse movement and their orientation, one of said carriers being arranged to receive the cigarettes from the other.

12. Cigarette-feeding apparatus having means to feed two side by side rows of cigarettes in the same general direction, and reversing means to reverse the orientation of the cigarettes of one of said rows and to incorporate the re-oriented cigarettes into the other row while they are moving in the same direction as the cigarettes of said other row, said reversing means including a rotary conveyor to carry cigarettes with their axes substantially radial to its axis of rotation and to reverse the orientation and direction of movement of the cigarettes while rotating through substantially half a revolution, and another rotary conveyor to carry cigarettes with their axes substantially parallel to its axis and to reverse their direction of movement, one of said rotary conveyors being arranged to receive cigarettes from the other and to release reoriented cigarettes for incorporation in said other row.

13. Apparatus for converting two adjacent rows of cigarettes travelling in a direction transverse to their length into a single row while reversing the orientation of the cigarettes of one row, comprising a rotary carrier extending across both rows and arranged to carry through substantially half a revolution cigarettes disposed substantially radially of its of rotation, thereby to reverse their orientation and direction of travel, conveyor means to convey cigarettes to said carrier for transfer thereto at a position at which the conveyor means and carrier are moving in substantially the same direction, and further conveyor means to receive reoriented cigarettes from said carrier at a position at which said further conveyor means and carrier are moving in substantially the same direction, one of said conveyor means being arranged to reverse the direction of transverse movement of cigarettes carried thereby.

14. Apparatus for reversing the orientation of a succession of cigarettes moving in a direction transverse to their length, comprising a rotary carrier to carry cigarettes arranged thereon substantially radially of its axis of rotation, and to convey said cigarettes through substantially half a revolution to reverse their orientation, conveyors to deliver cigarettes to and receive reoriented cigarettes from the carrier, said conveyors being disposed at opposite sides of said axis and arranged for movement in opposite directions, each of said conveyors being arranged for movement in the same general direction as the carrier at the position at which cigarette transfer is effected, one of the conveyors being a rotary conveyor which reverses the direction of transverse movement of the cigarettes.

15. Apparatus to reverse the orientation of a row of cigarettes travelling transversely to their length in succession in a first path, including a rotary carrier to carry the cigarettes though an acuate path and substantially radially disposed about an axis at right angles to the cigarettes, thereby to reverse their orientation and their direction of transverse movement, and another rotary carrier to carry the cigarettes through an arcuate path about an axis substantially parallel to the cigarettes, thereby to reverse their direction of transverse movement, conveyor means to receive reoriented cigarettes and carry them transversely along a second path offset from said first path, one of said carriers being arranged to receive cigarettes from the other and to deliver them to said conveyor means while they are moving in the same general direction as said conveyor means.

16. Tip-turning apparatus for cigarettes, including two conveyor devices each of which reverses the direction of movement of cigarettes travelling in a direction transverse to their length and one of which receives cigarettes from the other, one of said conveyor devices comprising a rotary turn-table on which cigarettes are arranged substantially radially of its axis of rotation and which reverses the orientation of the cigarettes while carrying them through substantially half a revolution.

17. Tip-turning apparatus for reversing the orientation of a succession of cigarettes travelling in a direction transverse to their length, including a rotary carrier arranged to receive cigarettes disposed substantially radially of its axis of rotation and to carry them through substantially half a revolution thereby to reverse their orientation, conveyor means to convey cigarettes to the carrier for transfer thereto, further conveyor means to which the reoriented cigarettes are transferred from the carrier, both said conveyor means being arranged for movement at the respective points of transfer in substantially the same direction as the carrier at the respective points of transfer, and one of said conveyor means being arranged to reverse the direction of travel of the cigarettes.

18. Apparatus for reorienting cigarettes, comprising a rotary turn-table having substantially radial cigarette-receiving recesses in an operative face thereof, a pair of fluted drums rotatable in opposite directions about axes substantially at right angles to the axis of rotation of the turn-table, and positioned adjacent the said operative face at opposite sides of the turn-table, one of said drums being arranged to supply cigarettes to said recesses for reorientation and the other being arranged to receive cigarettes from said recesses after they have been carried around with the turn-table through substantially half a revolution thereof and thereby reoriented, the drums and the turntable being arranged to rotate at speeds and in directions such that at the positions of transfer to and from the turntable each drum moves at a speed and in a direction substantially the same as the speed and direction of that part of the turn-table, to or from which the cigarettes are transferred, means to feed a row of cigarettes to be reoriented to the drum which delivers cigarettes to the turn-table, and means to feed an adjacent row of cigarettes to the other drum, the cigarettes of said adjacent row being spaced apart on said other drum so as to permit reoriented cigarettes to be received therebetween from the turn-table.

19. Apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein the two 10 adjacent rows of cigarettes are initially fed in the same general direction, and wherein the drum which delivers cigarettes to the turn-table reverses their direction of movement.

20. Apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein the turntable is disposed beneath the said pair of drums, and wherein the drum flutes and the cigarette-receiving recesses in the turn-table have suction ports communicating with suction means so as to hold the cigarettes, means being provided to cut off suction from flutes and recesses to release cigarettes therefrom.

21. Apparatus as claimed in claim 20, wherein flutes of the said other drum which are to receive reoriented cigarettes from the turn-table have suction ports offset from the suction ports in flutes intermediate thereto which carry the said adjacent row, and comprising a fixed shield within the drum covering only the ports of the first-named flutes and terminating short of the position where cigarettes are to be received by the said first-named flutes and acting to cut ofi suction from empty flutes.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1961 Pinkham 198-33 X 5/1962 Dearsley 19832 X 

